Food, faith, family mingle at mission's Thanksgiving

Published: Thursday, November 22, 2012 at 4:13 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, November 22, 2012 at 4:13 p.m.

For Virginia Gheesling, Thanksgiving has always been about spending time with family. Before her husband passed away in 2005, the holiday was always celebrated at home around a table brimming with food and relatives.

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But a few years ago, Gheesling, her son Al and her daughter Melba started a new family tradition: volunteering at the Hendersonville Rescue Mission, helping to serve several hundred plates of home-cooked food to the homeless and hungry on Thanksgiving.

“It's good for us,” Gheesling said as she helped Food Service Coordinator Todd Ruzicka prepare dessert pies in the mission's kitchen Thursday. “We're doing something worthwhile.”

Out in the mission's packed dining room, Brian Plemmons gave thanks for the warm food in his belly and the camaraderie. Out of fulltime work since 2009, Plemmons said the mission has provided him with more than just a place to eat and sleep.

“You make some good friends around here,” he said.

Rose Moore and her 8-year-old son, Isaiah, weren't expecting to eat Thanksgiving dinner at the Mission, but last Thursday a legal “mix-up” at the courthouse forced them out of their Fletcher apartment, she said.

“As soon as I get that straight, we're going to move back into a house,” Moore said. In the meantime, she was enjoying spending time at the mission with another single mom and her children.

“Everybody gets along real good,” she said.

Only about 15 percent of those eating Thanksgiving meals at the Mission are fulltime residents, said the Rev. Tim Jones, chief of operations. Others were mostly past residents who come back for meals each Christmas and Thanksgiving, mostly for “the sense of family.”

Former resident Travis Neff didn't have to work today, so he came by “to see if they needed a hand,” he said. “I know the Mission has done a lot for me, so I wanted to see if I could help them out.”

Neff graduated from the mission's eight-month substance abuse program called "Turning Point." A self-described methamphetamine addict for 16 years, Neff said the Mission offered him a structured routine and Christian path that helped him turn his life around. He now works in a kitchen and has been clean for more than a year.

“I'm very thankful for this place,” he said.

Ruzicka and his assistant cook, John McGraw, started preparing the Thanksgiving feast this past Sunday, he said. The meal featured 24 slow-cooked turkeys, 12 spiral hams, mashed potatoes, yams, dressing, eight gallons of gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans and six different types of pie.

“I tried something different this year,” said Ruzicka, describing how he inverted the turkeys so they would baste in their own juices while cooking. “I think it's better that way. And it's easier to pull off the bone, too.”

The mission has been serving Thanksgiving meals for more than 20 years, in addition to the three-squares a day they serve to homeless residents and others in need.

The mission receives no federal or state funding, relying instead on contributions from churches, civic groups and volunteers such as Joyce Bluhm, who shuttled heaping plates of turkey, beans and potatoes from the kitchen to diners, helped by her neighborhood friend, Marylin Estabrook.

"I've always wanted to do this," said Bluhm, who lives in Fletcher. "The older I get, the more I think I need to give back."

<p>For Virginia Gheesling, Thanksgiving has always been about spending time with family. Before her husband passed away in 2005, the holiday was always celebrated at home around a table brimming with food and relatives.</p><p>But a few years ago, Gheesling, her son Al and her daughter Melba started a new family tradition: volunteering at the Hendersonville Rescue Mission, helping to serve several hundred plates of home-cooked food to the homeless and hungry on Thanksgiving.</p><p>“It's good for us,” Gheesling said as she helped Food Service Coordinator Todd Ruzicka prepare dessert pies in the mission's kitchen Thursday. “We're doing something worthwhile.”</p><p>Out in the mission's packed dining room, Brian Plemmons gave thanks for the warm food in his belly and the camaraderie. Out of fulltime work since 2009, Plemmons said the mission has provided him with more than just a place to eat and sleep.</p><p>“You make some good friends around here,” he said. </p><p>Rose Moore and her 8-year-old son, Isaiah, weren't expecting to eat Thanksgiving dinner at the Mission, but last Thursday a legal “mix-up” at the courthouse forced them out of their Fletcher apartment, she said.</p><p>“As soon as I get that straight, we're going to move back into a house,” Moore said. In the meantime, she was enjoying spending time at the mission with another single mom and her children. </p><p>“Everybody gets along real good,” she said.</p><p>Only about 15 percent of those eating Thanksgiving meals at the Mission are fulltime residents, said the Rev. Tim Jones, chief of operations. Others were mostly past residents who come back for meals each Christmas and Thanksgiving, mostly for “the sense of family.”</p><p>Former resident Travis Neff didn't have to work today, so he came by “to see if they needed a hand,” he said. “I know the Mission has done a lot for me, so I wanted to see if I could help them out.”</p><p>Neff graduated from the mission's eight-month substance abuse program called "Turning Point." A self-described methamphetamine addict for 16 years, Neff said the Mission offered him a structured routine and Christian path that helped him turn his life around. He now works in a kitchen and has been clean for more than a year.</p><p>“I'm very thankful for this place,” he said.</p><p>Ruzicka and his assistant cook, John McGraw, started preparing the Thanksgiving feast this past Sunday, he said. The meal featured 24 slow-cooked turkeys, 12 spiral hams, mashed potatoes, yams, dressing, eight gallons of gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans and six different types of pie.</p><p>“I tried something different this year,” said Ruzicka, describing how he inverted the turkeys so they would baste in their own juices while cooking. “I think it's better that way. And it's easier to pull off the bone, too.”</p><p>The mission has been serving Thanksgiving meals for more than 20 years, in addition to the three-squares a day they serve to homeless residents and others in need. </p><p>The mission receives no federal or state funding, relying instead on contributions from churches, civic groups and volunteers such as Joyce Bluhm, who shuttled heaping plates of turkey, beans and potatoes from the kitchen to diners, helped by her neighborhood friend, Marylin Estabrook.</p><p>"I've always wanted to do this," said Bluhm, who lives in Fletcher. "The older I get, the more I think I need to give back." </p><p>Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com.</p>